The Squared Circle

[Lobo]

 

[Lobo]

Should I use this next?

 

[DOG LIPS]

 

[Lobo]

avatar :/.....for now

 

[LastSunrise1981]

Just to let you know, that's like, a week or so old.

I didn't know. I went to Chris Jericho's Message Board and it was just posted on there today, so I assumed it was new news and I didn't see it posted on here.

 

[Sarge 2.0]

I didn't know. I went to Chris Jericho's Message Board and it was just posted on there today, so I assumed it was new news and I didn't see it posted on here.

Yeah it's not biggie. Now that I think about it, that story is probably from around a month or so ago, right before No Mercy.

 

[NDX]

Alex Shelley interview at Marvel.com.

http://marvel.com/news/comicstories.1743.Fightin'_Fanboys:_TNA_Wrestler_Alex_Shelley


- Speaking of Shelley, the Motor City Machine Guns had the best selling t-shirt at the Bound for Glory Fan Fest.

- Rhino, Christopher Daniels, Senshi and Ron Killings all won't be at the Genesis PPV on 11/11 as all are booked for the New Japan Sumo Hall show that night.

- Christian, billed as Jay "Christian Cage" Reso, stars in a horror comedy called "Dark Rising." The DVD was released in Canada earlier this week.


(information from the Wrestling Observer Newsletter was used in this report)


ECW Rating:

ECW on Tuesday night scored a 1.6 cable rating.

 

[NDX]

Yeah, I know the first thing I'm doing come Saturday, buying a ticket to each one of these events.

November 1st: We have a major announcement about ROH's return to Manhattan. The 12/28 Hartford event has now been pushed back June 6th. If you have purchased tickets for 12/28 they will be honored on 6/6/08. ROH's return to Manhattan will now be a Saturday/Sunday double header. ROH will tape its entire 5th PPV on 12/29. Then there will be a special 5pm show on 12/30 at the Manhattan Center. This will be "Final Battle 2007" in NYC!!! Tickets for both these huge events will go on sale at this Saturday's Manhattan event. There will be loaded lineups for both events including international talent.

 

[bullets]

hell in a cell with batista and undertaker .........i hope foley makes an appearance .

 

[BlackLantern]

like the sand in Stephs panties

I don't see the problem in wanting your writing staff to NOT run their mouths and actually keep storylines under wraps....nothing wrong with being surprised

 

[Hunter Rider]

 

[Lobo]

Nope there's not I've just read lots of stories/rumors of Steph being a bytch

 

[Hunter Rider]

Steph surely must realise that you can't keep anything a secret now.

 

[DOG LIPS]

Nope there's not I've just read lots of stories/rumors of Steph being a bytch

Get a new avy! Or I'll give you one!

 

[Lobo]

Get a new avy! Or I'll give you one!

It's being worked on

you can give me a new one for now tho :heart:

 

[The Sage]

http://www.411mania.com/wrestling/columns/62628/The-MeeThinks-Friday-FreeThinks-11.02.07.htm


Major Change to WWE Wellness Initiative
Starting Nov. 1, All Infractions Will Be Made Public

This is a pretty significant update to WWE's controversial Wellness Initiative, which has long been shrouded in secrecy and has most recently drawn heavy criticism in light of the Benoit family tragedy earlier this summer and the slew of wrestler suspensions that followed. In short, the new policy change states that from here on out -- if a performer gets busted for doping, fans and critics alike will be the first to know, as the performer's name (and cause for disciplinary action) will be published front and center on the WWE (corporate) web page.

Kinda' like Hester Prynne for the 21st century.

Obviously this is a HUGE deal for wrestling fans and haters alike, as it helps to remove one of the most "secretive" and oft-criticized elements of WWE's existing Wellness policy. If what the 'E is saying is true, then from here on out there should be little question or doubt as to exactly *which* performers are violating the company's drug policy, and exactly *what* supplements they're using to do so. This works on three key levels at once:

1) It removes an extra level of suspicion. Since WWE is a publically held company, it can only benefit their best interests to make shareholders feel that they aren't being mislead or deceived. Steroids and drugs are a hot-button issue these days -- so it's much better to say "yeah, there are problems... and HERE's what and WHO they are" rather than to just blindly keep denying that a problem exists in the first place.

2) It acts as a deterrent. These days, it's only the IWC know-it-alls who keep taps on who's doping, on what, and when -- and we pretty much have to rely on the "dirt sheets" and insider rumor mills in order to obtain this information (which is still pretty much suspect, at best). But once this info is made public? Branding Wellness violators with a "scarlet letter" makes it all the more damaging for a performer to get caught breaking the rules. Think parents will be so eager to buy their kids Jeff Hardy gear if they find out he's a repeat drug offender? Think again.

3) It sets a precedent. Though anybody can tell you that what a coach/team/employer says *behind closed doors* and what they go on record as saying *in public* could easily be two very different things (example -- professional modeling industries and college wrestling coaches continue to swear up and down that their people aren't forced to starve themselves to cut weight)... it makes a very clear public statement that, as a company, WWE is more willing to call performers out for breaking the rules (and, in turn, more willing to suffer the public embarrassment and/or monetary loss associated with this revelation) than they are to help foster these problems behind closed doors.


Now sure...

Many folks will argue that this latest revision to the Wellness Initiative is really little more than a classic case of "closing the barn doors after the horses have already been let out" (after all, just about 75% of WWE's active performers have already been nailed for drug violations BEFORE the Nov. 1 "public reveal" deadline) -- but this policy could most definitely help to prevent against similar abuses and infractions on down the line.

I mean, just think about it for a second here --

If a dozen more performers all get nailed at once for breaking the drug policy (as was the case with the Signature Pharmacy scandal of some two months ago), and if WWE is forced to reveal the names of each of these performers in a clear-and-easy-to-read press release on the company website, you can BET that major media outlets will be more than happy to pounce on the news and use it for additional fuel to their ongoing "drugs and wrestling" fire. WWE, in turn, looks like the good guy (well, the "less bad" guy, at least) -- since they're more than willing to reveal who all is breaking the rules... and performers themselves have all the more reason to stay off the 'gas for fear of finding themselves at the center of a media (and Congressional) firestorm.

The message is clear:

WWE doesnt' condone drug use, and it will be MORE than happy to throw performers under the bus of public opinion and ridicule and hang folks out to dry if they're unable to stay clean, safe, and sober. The company offers regular drug and cardiovascular testing, and has gone on record with a public offer to pay for rehab services for ANY performers (past or present) who might need help kicking the habit.

Short of offering an organized system of health care or the opportunity for a worker's union (both of which are, without question, similarly noble pursuits for another day), that's where WWE's responsibility *ends* and each individual performer's personal responsibility *begins*.

 

[Lobo]

It's being worked on

you can give me a new one for now tho :heart:

Thank Cena Hunter finished befroe DL saw this

 

[The Sage]

Continuing from that...

Rikishi "Junior Fatu" Gone From TNA
Former WWE Star No-Showed Company Tapings This Week

Well that's... classy.

First Rikishi shows up and delivers what could well be one of THE ABSOLUTE WORST promos of the year (simultaneously burying Rick -- err, "Robert" -- Roode AND the "Fight for the Right" tournament), and then he doesn't even have the decency to fill out the remainder of his appearances with the company at the wage he'd agreed to work for in the first place.

Nice move, 'Kish.

While this is a(nother) perfect example of why TNA should sign performers to contracts BEFORE putting them on television (think Hogan, Savage, and to a lesser extent, Shannon Moore, etc.) -- the loss of a guy like Rikishi is absolutely not something worth getting upset over, as the guy clearly didn't have the best interests of anyone but himself at heart. TNA and its fans are better off without him.

Which brings Mee to my next point --

Last week, I mentioned that Booker T is a free agent and is (in all likelihood) considering a jump to TNA. While I can totally understand bringing in The Booker-man for his "name" value and drawing ability, again I think that it bears repeating that TNA should *not* continue to build their reputation as a company "vacation home" for former WWE stars who are either too old, too drugged out, too beat up, or too irrelevant to land work anywhere else. Those guys aren't jumping to TNA to "help the new guys out" or to "put the new company on the map" -- they're jumping to score a few easy paychecks with a significantly reduced work schedule.

In other words --

They're only in it for themselves.

This is *not* the type of thing we saw in the mid nineties where "old timers," "outcasts" and "rejects" the world over made the pilgrimmage to ECW in order to help out the young bucks and Paul Heyman turned 'em back into stars. Likewise, this is *not* like the bidding wars of the early "Attitude Era" where WCW and WWF were throwing money around like crazy as each company hoped to "one-up" the other by signing the hottest new free agent. What this IS, however, is dangerously similar to the dying days of WCW.

1) Old stars pushed at the expense of new stars.

2) Established talents cycling into the main event instead of new stars being added to the mix.

3) Guaranteed paydays for "big names" with limited work, while undercard guys scrape and infight for smaller wages.


MeeThinks?

TNA continues to run its programming (and its promotion) in a manner that seems suspiciously close to one of the absolute WORST and least successful business models in wrestling history (late-era WCW). For every major success the company can pull off (a great PPV, a two-hour timeslot, etc.), it seems as if they are just as hell-bent on running out to sign the very next WWE-ject castaway, and by doing so they only manage to top-load their roster with a bunch of performers (talented though they may well be, on an individual basis) that only makes the overall TNA brand look like little more than a WWE retirement home. The homegrown stars take second fiddle to the latest WWE-import, the cycle reboots itself (newly signed ex-WWE star dominates TNA roster, rinse and repeat), and ratings stay in EXACTLY the same place as they've been for the better part of six months solid.And if they want to succeed, they're going to need to do a lot better than that.

Say what you will about WWE's programming, but in the past five years alone the company has managed to make bona-fide main-eventers (and certifiable draws!) out of a tremendous number of performers who were otherwise untested or unknown on the mainstream stage of North American professional wrestling -- Cena, Batista, Orton, Lashley (and similar argument for Punk, Umaga, Edge).

Who's been a TNA champion in the company's five years of existence?

Ken Shamrock, Ron Killings, AJ Styles, Jeff Jarrett, Raven, Kurt Angle, Christian Cage, Rhino, Abyss, and Sting.

Lots of old-timers, WWE-jects, and established talents there. And if you eliminate Killings from the list (who's sunk back to "midcard at best" status since dropping the gold), all you're left with is A.J. Styles (likewise back in the midcard) and Abyss (who's struggling to stay above the midcard as we speak). Samoa Joe has had countless shots at the champs, yet he's never held the TNA World Title. Christopher Daniels has all but disappeared from the World Title picture. Bobby Roode is probably the next best homegrown prospect for a shot at the belt these days, but he's barely passing for a jobber-to-the-stars.

All in all --

So long as TNA continues to "rinse and repeat" in bringing in new WWE castaways (and replaying the same "new guy walks in on top" angle over and over again), they shouldn't be surprised in the least when their ratings (and their audience) continues to be in the exact same place as they were before the latest "free agent" acquisition.

TNA, if you want to "stay positive" and keep your momentum strong -- *don't* make the same mistake with Booker T in the weeks to come.

 

[DOG LIPS]

Thank Cena Hunter finished befroe DL saw this

You got lucky. I was going to load you up with this.

 

[SalaciousVC]

Wow,lol i didn't even know it came out yet i thought i was supossed to come out on the 13th

anyway here's the SVR2008 reviews from Ign.com

Wii version:http://wii.ign.com/articles/832/832095p1.html

Ps2 version:http://ps2.ign.com/articles/832/832058p3.html

Ps3 version:http://ps3.ign.com/articles/831/831925p1.html

X-box 360 Version:http://ps3.ign.com/articles/831/831925p1.html

Nintendo Ds Version:http://ds.ign.com/articles/832/832147p1.html

 

[BlackLantern]

Steph surely must realise that you can't keep anything a secret now.

I think there is a way to do it......IMO part of the problem is the size of their production meetings which have vince, steph, all the writers, some of the production staff and additional employees.......in order to find a leak, they should have separate meetings with smaller people and drop a different piece of bad info to each group......which ever piece hits the Net....you know who iis running their mouth and the problem can be fixed....most tv shows and movie sets have their staffs sign confidentiality agreements.....i think the WWE should start....fans lately seem to think they are entitled to know everything before hand.....

 

[Lobo]

From Gregory Helms MySpace


Injury Update!

Hey everyone! First of all, I want to thank everyone for the over-whelming support that's been shown me since my injury. I know I'm way past due in letting my supporter's know how I'm doing, so without further ado (you have to say that with a foreigh accent of some sort) here we go. The neck seems to be doing good. But, and there's always a "but" isn't there, the difference in my neck injury and others in the sport of pro wrestling that have suffered a similar injury is the amount of actual nerve damage that I sustained. So while my neck seems to be okay, I have nerve damage in both arms that pretty much keeps me in pain on a daily basis. On a good day, it's tolerable, on a bad day I can't even hold a book. Which for someone who reads as much as I do, that is a significant pain in the ass as well as arms. On a bad day, video games are completely out of the question, which doesn't seem to bother me too much as Talia takes entirely too much enjoyment at beating my ass in whatever video games we play. Although, she has learned first hand why I've never ever lost a game of Trivia Pursuit! The physical therapy at this point mainly consists of walking and slight stretching movements to keep the old "bag of bones" from getting too stiff and out of shape. Nerve damage, it appears heals at about 1/10 the rate of muscle or bone, so it's just going to take time to fully recover, how much time is the question? So there ya go, once again, thanks for all the support, I look forward to coming back and kicking people in the head as soon as I can! I'll be posting another blog soon letting you know about what I've been up to lately. Trust me, it's been wild!

 

[Superman_]

When is Y2J suppose to come back.





And yes I know whose avatar I stole but I will not change it until I get my link to the Dog Lips show back. lost it when I changed screen names

 

[BlackLantern]

When is Y2J suppose to come back.

when you see him on your TV during RAW or SD, he has come back.....

 

[BlackLantern]

- Chris Jericho appeared on the Bubba the Love Sponge radio show today. During the interview, Bubba called Jericho's return to WWE the worst kept secret in wrestling and said that even TNA President Dixie Carter told him that Jericho had signed a new deal with WWE. Bubba said he told Dixie to sign Jericho for $1 million per year but Jericho said TNA's offer wasn't close to that.

credit: 411mania.com

Bubba the Waste of Space needs to die....a horrid death...